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It has made my life happier - I am walking about 2 hours a day and at 72 I can use the exercise. Hi, This is my first and I did quite a bit of research before I purchased one. It is great for Geocaching also. I looked at a couple of friends gps's and when I saw that I could get a refurbished one I bit. I LOVE IT. Buy one. You too will LOVE IT.
However, I just recently learned that you can save the "timestamps" also in the saved track log if you save to the microSD card. I've had my eTrex Vista Cx for several years now and have been quite happy with it. This is great for organizing your tracks and geotagging later. I use it for hiking, sailing, and now soon geotagging photos. Normally the saved track logs are condensed to save space - and so they remove the timestamps for each point. To setup saving to the data card, simply go to:Main Menu -> Tracks -> Setup -> Data Card Setup. Check 'Log track to data card' and you're set.This device also has useful features for sailing (proximity change/drift alert when anchored) and I just saw "skydiving" too thanks to it's altimeter.
You should be able to get it for just over $100, but will probably need to purchase an additional SD chip ($100) to get the street maps; then you also get turn-by-turn driving directions. My other Garmin unit also had this problem, which can only be solved by switching off and on again.
It is certainly a handy and rugged unit. However, the screen is quite small and the enter button is awkward to operate, especially for right-handed people, as it is located on the left on the unit.
I have used this unit a lot over the last two years, both for geocaching and for driving and have generally found it very good. More seriously, the map a tendence to get "stuck", especially when you switch from driving to walking.
If you hold it in your right hand to push it with your thumb you will be covering the map. The correct sequence of buttons to push for entering the menus is a little illogical and difficult to remember.
I got mine for free through my bank's reward program. All in all, a very good unit for the price, I think.
So I'm thinking mine was a lemon. I wrote back and said that didn't work, so what now. The problems got worse. Sometimes it seemed like it was working, other times not. This time they finally answered me.
Then I called and got put on hold too long with my cellphone. I read and re-read the manual a dozen times. I emailed Garmin for advice. But Garmin never answered my emailings again. I read a bazillion reviews on this item prior to purchasing it, and almost all reviews were positive.
Do I send it back to them. They told me how to reset it. I emailed Garmin again. But I never heard from them.
I took it out of state on an ATV trip. Or maybe I should say NO customer service. Yes, I did my homework. I followed the procedure exactly, several times. That didn't work either. It was still under warranty. And when I got home to Utah, the Vista said I was still in Minnesota. The worst I have ever had.
Then I would scan parts of it every time I took this GPS outdoors with me. So this unit was more of an amusement than something that could come in handy. It wouldn't pick up more than one satellite near Lake Superior. And no matter what I did, it wouldn't fix itself. Lousy customer service. I was going to give it to my young nephew, but I didn't want to be responsible if he got lost somewhere with it.
Same result. I purchased this for geocaching. So I just sent it back to Amazon. When I tried connecting to a computer it just wouldn't work. Tried several machines. I have experience with another Garmin unit and loved it so I'll try getting another model. Maybe this was just a lemon.
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